Best Buy Co. said it plans to close 50 big box stores and open 100 small mobile locations in the U.S. in fiscal 2013 and cut $800 million in costs by fiscal 2015. The news came Thursday as the biggest U.S. specialty electronics retailer posted a fiscal fourth quarter loss partly due to restructuring charges, but its adjusted results topped Wall Street's expectations.
Best Buy's strategy of focusing on closing some of its hulking stores to concentrate on smaller Best Buy Mobile outlets illustrates the shifting nature of the electronics industry. Shoppers aren't flocking to big-box stores like they used to. And sales of TVs, digital cameras and videogame consoles have weaken, while sales of tablet computers, smartphones and e-readers have increased.